Garment Workers Rally Against Cambodia Government

Garment workers pressing for higher wages joined opposition activists in protests in the Cambodian capital on Thursday, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The protests in Phnom Penh on Thursday came as the country's garment manufacturers association recommended that its members stop operations for a week. It cited a fear that demonstrators might damage the factories if workers didn't come out on strike. The country is home to about 500 factories producing clothes and shoes for foreign brands.

Several thousand people were gathering for a rally in the city, according to witnesses.

Hun Sen won elections in July that extended his 28-year rule in the poor Southeast Asia nation, but protesters led by defeated opposition lawmaker Sam Rainsy accuse him of rigging the elections, and have been staging street protests and demanding the he resign and call new elections.

Prolonged labor unrest in the economically vital garment sector will hurt the government. The industry employs more than 500,000 people and is the biggest export earner. The workers are demanding a monthly salary of $150, up from their current minimum of $90. Many of them have been striking for several months.

"The government and the factory owners know that workers cannot survive with the current salary, but why can't they agree to increase the wages," said Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers.

Low wages are the major incentive for international clothing manufactures to set up factories in Cambodia. As elsewhere in the region, unions are pressing for higher compensation and better working conditions, an issue that has been in the spotlight following recent deadly disasters in Bangladeshi factories.